“The Padres gave me an opportunity. So if they ask me to go back out (to the minors), I’m ready to go. But if they need me, I’m ready. A lot of guys come to spring training to get ready. I’m ready now. I’ll play every exhibition game if they need me.”

Rodriguez is usually the first player arriving at the Padres training base around 5:30 each morning, because that’s the time he hits the water when fishing during the off-season. He’s always among the first hitters in the cage in the morning. And he’s usually among the last players to leave.

“I’m a very deliberate and scheduled person,” he says. “I don’t like to rush or be caught trying to catch up. It’s the fisherman in me. To optimize my chances, I’m ready at 4:30 a.m. I’m particular about every thing I do. What and when I eat. How and when I train. I don’t want to ever have to tell myself, ‘Eddy, you didn’t give it your all.’”

“Eddy has a gift,” said Padres Triple-A manager Pat Murphy. “He realizes and he communicates. He gives it is all.”